Governor Authorizes $200k to Further Fight Weber Flooding

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16 June, 2011 - 13:55

Article Date:

17 June, 2011 (All day)

Salt Lake City – In response to a Weber County request, at 4 p.m. today Governor Gary R. Herbert authorized an additional $200,000 in emergency funding to further combat local flooding. Funds are to assist with the construction of a temporary access road, as well as a giant crane, trucks and steel posts, which the crane will drive into the ground, creating a metal curtain to reinforce the levee and keep the Weber River in its banks.

“The State stands ready, willing and able to do everything we can to prevent the loss of property and permanent structures,” the Governor said. “We will continue to work with local leaders and the Legislature to do all that can be done.”

The proposed Weber County project is located at the same levee site recently shored up by the Utah National Guard with 21 one-ton sand bags. Once state officials received verification that the proposed mitigation efforts were determined to be feasible and sound by engineers at 3:30 p.m., a recommendation immediately went to the Governor, who then authorized the Utah Department of Public Safety and the Utah Department of Transportation to deploy necessary assistance.

Today’s decision coincides with the National Weather Service’s latest update, found at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/wxbriefing/wxb14jun2011/player.html , which examines June’s weather forecast and flooding potential. The most current status reports on efforts statewide can be found at http://utahemergencyinfo.com. Many Utah waterways currently have flood watches, advisories or warnings and, with state snowpack at the highest levels of the past 10-15 years, the State Emergency Operations Center remains at Activation Level 2.